The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
001
:
GENERAL PROVISIONS
(Cite as: 10 V.S.A. § 4715)
-
§ 4715. Remote-control hunting
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Captive animal” includes an animal that has been brought into and kept in captivity
for the purpose of taking it, and any increase of such animal.
(2) “Remote-control hunting” means the use of a computer, any device that uses the Internet,
or any other technology to control remotely the aiming and discharge of any device
such as a firearm, bow, or spear to take a wild animal or captive animal.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, no person shall take a wild
animal or captive animal using a remote-control hunting device. This subsection shall
apply to any person who is in Vermont while using a remote-control hunting device
regardless of the location of the animal taken.
(c) No person shall establish or operate a remote-control hunting site in Vermont.
(d) No person shall import, export, or possess a wild animal or captive animal, or part
thereof, taken by a remote-control hunting device, except that a person operating
under a permit pursuant to subsection (e) of this section may possess an animal carcass,
or part thereof, taken by that person using a remote-control hunting device.
(e) A person who is physically disabled to the degree that he or she cannot operate a
device allowed for taking of game under Vermont law may obtain a permit to take game
in Vermont with a device that is in the immediate vicinity of the permittee and that
the permittee operates using remote-control technology other than the Internet. A
person applying for this permit shall personally appear before the Commissioner or
the Commissioner’s designee and submit certification from a licensed physician describing
the person’s limitations. The Commissioner may obtain a second medical opinion to
verify the disability. Upon satisfactory proof of the disability, the Commissioner
may issue a permit describing the device and method the person may use to take game.
The Commissioner shall require that the permittee be accompanied while hunting by
a person who is licensed to hunt in Vermont unless the permittee can demonstrate that
he or she is able to track injured game and to retrieve and care for a carcass. If
the permit is not intended to be a permanent permit, it shall state the date on which
the permit expires. The permit shall be attached to the hunting license, and the holder
shall carry it at all times while hunting and produce it on demand for inspection
by any fish and wildlife warden or other law enforcement officer. (Added 2005, No. 47, § 1, eff. June 7, 2005; amended 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 39.)